Inspired
by Bellothir
Summary: A young farmer that goes by the name Baltai Syr, becomes inspired after meeting Merida and feels that he's destined to become an adventurer as well, just like his mother was. Unfortunately, his father never approves of adventuring. This makes Baltai go on his own will, which causes him to become lost. Will he ever find his way home or be rescued? (Possible Merida X OC)
1. Chapter 1 - The Farm Boy

Chapter One

"Okay. Almost finished for now." The boy spoke, wiping the sweat off his brow and stretching a little, hearing a crack in his lower back. He groaned a bit, but continued working on his family's farm.

The boy's name was Baltai Syr, the son of Balgair Syr, a hard-working farmer. He was sixteen years-old with short brown hair, shallow face, and a thin, but strong body. He worked with his father when he became twelve, which it was difficult work, with very rewarding and satisfying results. His body became used to the job and his father grew very healthy vegetables to sell to people passing by, which kept them in business. Sometimes, if his dad allowed it on some days, he would relax under the tree just outside of their house to enjoy the shade, especially during the hot days.

Baltai looked up at the tree and began to ponder if he should take a few moments to rest and cool off. He shook his head and thought that if he worked harder and a bit more quickly, maybe he would let him relax in the shade. Then again, it would just tire him out if he sped things up, so he just kept at a steady pace. Although, the shade was very tempting to him.

Suddenly, he heard a voice call out from the direction of their home.

"Baltai! You can take a break for now. I'll take over for the rest of today. You've done very well." The voice of his father spoke, the front door soon opening and Balgair started approaching him. His father looked pretty aged, almost in the late forties, but his body was still strong and his smile was warm as always.

"Are you sure dad? I'm not tired or anything. I can still work for a few more hours." Baltai said, visibly lying through his teeth with lines of sweat rolling down his face. He quickly wiped it off again and gave a small smile. He didn't want to relax and become lazy.

"I'm sure, lad. You can sit under the tree and catch your breath." Balgair said, giving a heavy pat on his son's shoulder. Baltai smiled up at him and nodded, walking towards the tree and sighing in relief to himself as he slowly slid down the side of the tree, his bottom hitting the ground.

As he relaxed and closed his eyes to catch some rest, he began to listen to the birds chirping, his father working, and strangely, the clopping of hooves, which seemed out of place, mostly because it was just one set of hooves, not more than one. This caused Baltai to open his eyes slowly and look at where the sound was coming from, setting his eyes on a girl with red hair on the back of her black horse.

Baltai waved to the girl and stood up slowly, in order to speak with her and maybe sell some of the family vegetables. Unfortunately, his muscles came back with a vengeance and as he walked towards her, his legs began to give out, making him fall flat on his face, hitting the dirt hard and embarrassing himself. Thankfully, the girl dismounted from her steed and ran to help him up.

"Are you alright?" the girl asked, offering a hand, which Baltai looked up at her, his hair and face covered in dirt and grass, accepting the offer and grasping her hand, standing up slowly and smiling. Baltai wiped the mess off his hair and cleaned up the dirt on his face.

"Yes. I'm quite alright. Just took a bit of a tumble. I've been working on the farm and well, it's a long story. Thanks for the help." Baltai said, smiling still. He oddly looked at her hair, noticing an awkward silence until he began to speak again.

"I'm Baltai Syr. The son of Balgair Syr. What's your name?" he asked, holding a hand out. She hesitated before shaking his hand with a smile.

"Merida. It's nice to meet you, Baltai. Such a strange name though." Merida commented with a tilt of her head. Baltai gave a shrug and small laugh.

"Well, I guess my father chose the name, since they sound so similar. My father and I have been working at this place for years, so it's nice to see a new face here. Did you hear about our produce from a friend? Maybe you would like to buy some of it? The two of us worked very hard to grow the freshest ones around!" He said, turning his head to watch his dad, working the fields by himself.

"What about your mother? Does she help with the farm too?" Merida asked when she noticed just the two which, judging by Baltai's expression was a piercing question. He slowly looked at her, slight sadness in his face as his smile faded. It was a personal question and he wasn't very comfortable when people asked about his mother, which was an uncommon thing to ask, but it was hard to answer when it came up.

"My mom? She left three years ago." Baltai stated, almost emotionlessly, obviously not wanting to talk about it.

"I'm… Sorry to hear that." She said with sympathy in her tone, but Baltai slowly walked back to the tree, sitting down slowly. He sighed, looking at the leaves, thinking about his mother, and then looking back at Merida.

"What brings you here? Are you a traveler or a customer? You look a little short to be the former." Baltai questioned, scratching his head a little. Merida looked slightly offended, but ignored the remark. She leaned against the wooden fence, crossing her arms.

"Well, if you must know, I'm the princess of the Dunbroch kingdom. And it may be surprising to you, but I have been on a lot of adventures. I recently went on one not too long ago." She said with a slight smirk, obviously interesting Baltai, judging by his sudden reaction when she mentioned that she was both a princess and adventurer.

"You're a princess and you've adventured before? What was your adventure like? What's it like being part of a royal family?" Baltai asked a barrage of questions, leaning forward, wanting to hear more about her life and her experiences.

Merida smiled before approaching him and standing standing under the tree, beginning to tell him the tale of when she attempted to change her fate and the adventure she experienced with her mother, while also slowly getting into the story, following it up with hand gestures and facial expressions. This made him more engaged and before he knew it, time was flying by.

Balgair meanwhile, caught sight of the two from a distance. He slowly smiled as he watched them. It wasn't everyday where someone, a girl no less, would have a conversation with his son, what with the constant farming and the bustling.

The afternoon had passed as Merida spoke to Baltai and when she had finished telling him her adventure, he was put in a very good mood.

"Wow…" Baltai said, almost in a hushed tone as she smiled at him, knowing that he had been practically amazed by the tale. Something so magical and courageous seemed so unbelievable to him, but it had to be true.

Unbeknownst to Merida, this unfortunately inspired Baltai. Deep down in his heart, he wanted something more in his life than to be just a farmer. Possibly a strong warrior or maybe even a brave protector of the farm, fighting off wolves and keeping other wild beasts at bay. Sure, farming was very good and his father was proud when Baltai did excellent work, but Baltai always wanted to go on his own adventure, just like how his mother used to be an adventurer until she met his father.

"Oh! I should get going. I don't want my mother to get upset with me." Merida said, quickly going back to her horse, Angus, getting on its back. Baltai stood up and waved farewell to her.

"It was lovely to meet you, Merida! Make sure your mother doesn't turn back into a bear!" Baltai said with a smile and slight chuckle before she rode off.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Wisps

Chapter Two

It was late in the evening, almost midnight to be exact, and Baltai was sitting on his bed, thinking about the story Merida told him. He wanted to change his fate too and feel freedom like her, without his father shaking his finger at him and moving his head in disapproval.

Baltai remembered that when he was very young before his mother's departure, she taught him how to fight, but his father did not enjoy that Baltai was being raised to swing a weapon like a brute. They would argue until one day, she just up and left, most likely annoyed by the fact that his father was always strict. Baltai couldn't blame her though.

He sighed and stared out the window, looking at the forest all the way on the edge of the farm.

As he was lost into the sight, he noticed something off in the distance, outside of the forest. Something bright, but blue like the sky.

Baltai slowly stood up from his bed, and approached the window to get a better look, squinting hard to see that the object in the distance was a wisp, something he had never seen before in his life. Although, he has heard of tales that wisps were able to lead you to your fate, so perhaps this was a sign.

"Just like Merida's story… A wisp will lead me to my fate. This must be it!" Baltai muttered to himself, so not to wake his father.

He had to be quick before the wisp would disappear. Baltai knew in his mind that the journey to his fate would probably be dangerous, so it was best to prepare. He grabbed a rucksack on the top of his dresser, opening the pack and a dresser drawer, getting an extra pair of clothes in case it rains.

Baltai also packed a few fresh carrots and put on a dark brown cloak that his mother once made for him when he was very young. He put the hood over his head and opened the window to sneak outside, keeping an eye on the wisp floating, waiting for him to approach.

Baltai planted his feet on the ground softly, still looking at the wisp. He closed his window slowly and took a deep breath, ready to go to his fate.

"Okay… Here I go. It's time to make a name for myself!" Baltai thought, walking to the wisp before slowly going into a jog.

As he got closer to the glowing entity, more appeared behind it, almost giving a pathway for him to follow.

Baltai followed the "trail" and entered the forest, going deeper and deeper, the area getting darker, but the wisps lit the way.

"Come on… Show me to my fate!" Baltai said, continuing his chase until suddenly, the wisps disappeared.

He stopped running and looked around, seeing that the visibility was low except for the faint moonlight on the top of the trees.

"Where did they go? Come back wisps." He said, his face slowly going from determination, to slight fear.

Suddenly, he heard a twig snapping and light steps to the right of him, making him quickly turn and gasp quietly.

"W-Who's there?" he questioned with a whisper, hearing the steps getting closer and closer.

Then there was silence.

Baltai took the moment to relax and assumed it was something like a rabbit or a squirrel, but was interrupted by a growl and before he could get a good look, a wolf leapt at him.

Thankfully, he reacted with haste and ducked, the beast going over his head and landing behind him. Baltai quickly stood on his feet and prepared himself for a fight, putting his fists up and visibly shaking in his knees.

The wolf circled around him slightly, looking for an opportunity to strike and when it charged at him again, Baltai took action, closing his eyes and swinging his fist at the creature, striking its jaw hard and making it yelp in pain and dazing it.

He took his chance and swung again, hitting it in the body and then the nose with all his effort.

The wolf then turned around and retreated, knowing that Baltai was not an easy prey for its dinner. He caught his breath and slowly planted his hands on his knees, bending over lightly and looking at where the creature ran, his heart pounding.

Once his heart calmed down, he looked at his surroundings, seeing that the trees around him almost looked alike, which wasn't a good sign at all. He looked in every direction, looking for some sign of where he came from, but there wasn't any.

"Okay… Don't panic, Baltai. Maybe in the morning, you'll see where you ran." He said to himself, trying to get some spark of hope.

Baltai moved to one tree and leaned against it, sliding down to the ground to rest for the night, wrapping the cloak around his body and keeping his legs close to his chest. He knew it would be a long night and he wasn't going to rest easy, but he had to try and sleep enough to get his strength for tomorrow.

"My father is not going to be happy…" Baltai whispered, slowly falling asleep to the sound of the crickets and owls.


End file.
